


Preliminaries

by Timballisto



Series: The Ninth Life [7]
Category: Naruto
Genre: AU, Chuunin Exams, Gen, Preliminaries, Sasuke vs. Sakura
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-14
Updated: 2012-12-14
Packaged: 2017-11-21 02:19:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/592363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Timballisto/pseuds/Timballisto
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The many reincarnations of Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno. AU/Plotbunnies. Mostly Sakura and Naruto-centric.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Sakura didn't know what to think when the preliminary board finally stopped on two names; Sakura Haruno vs. Sasuke Uchiha.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She gulped, her mouth dry. To her left she could see Naruto's worried face; worry for her or Sasuke she didn't know. To her right… Sasuke's face was impassive but Sakura knew him well enough to see the lines of arrogance in his face and body language.</em>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Preliminaries

Sakura didn't know what to think when the preliminary board finally stopped on two names; Sakura Haruno vs. Sasuke Uchiha.

She gulped, her mouth dry. To her left she could see Naruto's worried face; worry for her or Sasuke she didn't know. To her right… Sasuke's face was impassive but Sakura knew him well enough to see the lines of arrogance in his face and body language.

"Will both fighters please come down into the arena?" the referee, Hayate, coughed, waving them down with one grayish hand, covering his mouth with the other.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted, turning to make his way down the stairs. Sakura opted to jump down over the railing- she really didn't want to walk past her peers (Ino) right now.

They took their places across from each other; Sakura in a tense stance, her hands twitching, Sasuke was relaxed, bored almost, with his hands in his pockets.

"Such disrespect…" Sakura could hear Guy stage whisper to Kakashi (which basically meant everyone in the room could hear it).

"Aa." Kakashi mumbled in agreement, peering over the top of his ever present book to look down at his students.

"Are you both ready?" Hayate asked, looking from boy to girl.

Sasuke nodded lazily, bored with the proceedings already and Sakura nodded after a moment's hesitation.

Was she ready?

This was Sasuke-kun. Rookie of the year, the last Uchiha… long-time crush… should she just give up? Give her place in the tournament to Sasuke, her chance of advancement?

"Go Sakura-chan, kick his ass!" Naruto's voice crowed from the balcony, making her lips twitch. Only Naruto would expect Sakura to kick the best all-around genin's ass. If she just gave up now… would she ever be able to look Naruto in the face again? Or Ino? For a boy who probably wouldn't even say thank you?

"Hajime!"

There was not time to wonder at her decision; Sakura was forced to duck a vicious kick aimed at her head and stumble backwards to avoid a knock-out punch to her solar plexus.

"Just give up Sakura." Sasuke said, smirking. "Face it, you can't win here. You barely know any jutsu other than the three you graduated with." He attempted to sweep her feet out from under her, missing her ankles by inches.

Damn it, he's right. Sakura thought furiously as she ducked and dodged. On top of that, he's the best in out class when it comes to ninjustu and above average in taijutsu. I'll be beaten to a pulp before even get close! He's got clan techniques, the Sharingan- what do I have?

She felt at her pouch, pleased to find at least ten shuriken and three kunai tucked away- at least half of her original stock.

Alright. Plan, I need a plan.

XXX

Despite appearance, Naruto was not stupid. He was oblivious to a lot of social nuances, yeah, but not stupid. Actually, Naruto prided himself on being rather good at observing people.

For example, Sasuke was in a lot of pain right now, which is why he was trying his hardest to land a blow on Sakura and end the fight quickly. Which he was having a bit of a problem with, actually.

Sakura may not have been strong physically, but she could be agile and flexible- which was why she had been able to slip around Sasuke's attacks.

But she hadn't been able to launch an offensive, or even get a good counter-strike in to knock Sasuke off balance.

"She won't win, Naruto." Kakashi's voice was soft. "Sasuke's just too good."

Naruto turned around to glare at his sensei, fury igniting at his calm dismissal of one of his students. "You know Kakashi-sensei," he said, his voice full of venom. "If you'd sat her down and taught her something maybe you wouldn't be saying that. Sasuke wasn't kidding when he said she only knew three academy jutsu and one she had to learn herself."

Kakashi blinked. "What-?"

"You'll see." Naruto said shortly. "Sakura-chan's got that look on her face; either she's really mad, or she's thinking of a plan."

I really hope she's thinking of a plan.

XXX

"Enough of this." Sasuke stated, his hands whisking through seals. "Katon: Phoenix Flower no Justu!"

The small balls of chakra fed fire roared at her with speeds that would've tested a seasoned Chuunin. Panicked, she ducked and dodged and weaved- knowing that cutting it too close would still burn.

"Shit!" She cursed when Sasuke managed to clip her in the side, sending her sprawling to the ground in an undignified heap."Geez," she wheezed as she tried to get her breath back. "that smarts." She felt at her wound, grimacing as she felt that the material of her shirt had melted into the already blackened skin. Right now, as she ran on adrenaline, she couldn't feel much but numbness but soon… then Sasuke was on her, smashing his fist into her cheek, sending her flying against the wall of the arena. Sakura felt something pop and gasped at the sharp pain- coughing up blood as she did so. At best, her rib had only nicked her lung, at worst she would start drowning in her own blood in a few minutes.

All of the spectators winced at the loud slap of flesh hitting concrete. Only Kakashi seemed unmoved, but most of his face was obscured, so it was hard to tell what he was thinking unless he wanted you to know about it.

"Give up, Sakura." Sasuke's voice was flat. "I'm doing you a favor. No one else here has any patience for a girl playing at being a ninja- if you move on, you'll be killed." He walked over slowly, his sandals tapping on the floor as he moved through the absolute silence.

"N-no." Sakura wheezed, blood bubbling out of the corner of her mouth.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, and a vein worked in his temple. "I'm giving you a chance to back out gracefully, Sakura. This isn't a game. This is real life."

"I-" her side throbbed again. "I… you know what?" her temper was up now, anger sending a rush through her body. "I've wasted my entire childhood on you, tried to be a good teammate- only to have it shoved in my face." She took a deep shuddering breath, gritting her teeth as she struggled to her feet.

"Go to hell." Her grim face was replaced by the clatter of a kunai as it fell to the floor and the tale telling puff of smoke that went with it.

"Replacement." Sasuke snarled, whirling around to deliver a haymaker to what he supposed was the real Sakura Haruno… only for his fist to go right through her chin and disappear. "Bunshin?"

His only warning was the sound of a henge being released behind him before he whirled around, his hands in a defensive position.

"Gah!" he yelped, eyes watering as two kunai entered his hands, grating against the bone as they pieced skin and muscle to protrude through the other side. Blood oozed down his forearm in streams- much more blood than he would expect from such wounds.

Sakura, though sickened, was determined. She gave them an extra twist- wincing at Sasku's pained grunt- before backing off, mission accomplished. Without his hands, Sasuke's taijutsu was limited and his ninjutsu would be nonexistent.

She'd just evened the odds.

XXX

"Whoa." Naruto mumbled, his eyes wide. "Sakura-chan can be scary." He looked to his neighbor, Shikamaru for agreement.

"Troublesome." The Nara sighed as he slouched. "Why is every kunoichi in our graduating class so…" he sighed again, not bothering to finish his own sentence.

Kakashi nodded to himself, mentally re-evaluating his student. "She used henge to make it look like she'd used a replacement… then used a bunshin to get Sasuke to show his back, giving her an opening." If her release had been a little quieter… she could have ended it right there. As it is… she's given herself a fighting chance. Ninjustu is completely out of the question for him now, so all she has to deal with is taijutsu.

He hummed to himself, guilt settling in his chest. He'd probably be a little less worried if he had taught her something.

XXX

Sasuke grit his teeth against the pain radiating from his palms. Who knew that having kunai shoved through your hands would hurt so much?

And make the match look a lot harder to win?

"I need to finish this now." He muttered, activating his Sharingan. The world snapped into clearer focus; he grinned. This would end here.

Sakura swore, loudly and uncharacteristically at the sight of Sasuke's dojutsu. She knew he wasn't very proficient in its use yet; only being able to see things clearer and copy techniques. Good thing for her he hadn't obtained the ability to see through genjutsu or anticipate her moves yet or she'd really be screwed.

"Aright, alright…" she mumbled, backing away to keep some distance between Sasuke and herself. "I need a new plan. New plan-" she yelped when Sasuke seemed to appear in front of her, foot held high for an axe kick that would probably break her neck if she let it hit. She dove to the side, sending three of her shuriken toward him as she landed, forcing him to dodge instead of pursuing her and finishing her off.

"Plan, plan, plan…" she thought frantically. She had seven shuriken, four kunai- that was it. Three jutsu, plus the genjustu she'd looked up in Konoha's genin library. How could she fit it all together?

She needed some time!

XXX

Sasuke smiled grimly as he looked at Sakura. She was standing there, a brave look on her face. He smirked, his Sharingan eyes taking in the tremble in her knees and the tremors in her hands as she clutched the kunai she held in front of her tightly.

She was scared of him.

Was this the power Orochimaru had spoken of? The power to make people fear him? If so… he kind of liked it.

"Give up now, Sakura." He said, stepping towards her. "I promise I won't hurt you. It's your last chance."

Sakura's face turned to stone before his eyes. Her trembling stopped and she looked liable to spit in his direction. "Do your worst."

Sasuke cocked his head. "Alright." He could feel the malevolent chakra flow through his body, rejuvenating his body.

He was on her. His kicks splintered bone, and his punches bruised organs. Sasuke's sweep fractured her ankles and his haymaker crushed her jaw. His axe kick fractured her skull and his punch broke her nose. Blood dripped from his hands onto the floor.

When she fell, she was like a broken china doll. Shattered porcelain with no chance of reconstruction. Sakura Haruno was finished.

Except… Sasuke looked at his hands, wet with blood that wasn't his. Where were bloody holes where Sasuke had taken kunai to his hands? Where-

He whipped back to look at the fallen Sakura, only to see her standing upright again, good as new with her kunai held out in front of her.

What-?

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. Genjutsu. Painstakingly, he placed his hands together- now he could feel the pain from those wounds- gathered his chakra and-

"KAI!"

The arena shimmered a little as the genjustu fell apart, melting into reality. He blinked, and his eyes widened to see Sakura sprinting towards him, a determined expression on her face. "SHANNARO!" she cried as she cocked back her fist, ready to slam it into his cheek-

Sasuke kicked out, expecting to send her flying across the room only for his foot to go through the bunshin that had been going for his face. He completely missed the real Sakura that had been moving in synch with her bunshin, using it as cover while she moved in low to deliver a kick to his leg, smashing his kneecap to piece, inverting the entire joint.

Sasuke heard and felt his knee snap before the pain radiated up his thigh, sending him toppling to the floor. His head cracked hard against the tile, leaving him dizzy and disoriented. He barely registered the cold metal at his neck or the referee call the match in Sakura's favor.

Sakura blinked, stumbling slightly as she followed the medics out of the arena. She made it. She beat the rookie of the year. Hysterical laughter built in her gut and she couldn't help the muffled giggles that escaped her, even when the shaking prodded her broken body into reminding her that she was injured and she needed to lie down.

Before she sagged onto a nearby cot, she took a second to remember the taste of her hard won victory. For once, it was something that was all hers. No teammates to help her, no sensei to step in… she'd taken on a fellow ninja and proved herself worthy.

She smiled, even as the medics forced a syringe into her arm and carted her into the fully stocked OR that the Forest of Death Tower offered to fix her punctured lung.

At last, she was walking side by side with her teammates, not behind.


End file.
